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On The Table Read, “The Best Book Reader Magazine in the UK“, Adam Gary, founder of The Poetry Cove, shares what inspired the online poetry community and why connecting through a love of poetry is so important for the writers involved.
- A hub of over 2,500 poetry lovers from 61 countries
- Encompassing a forum, drop-in classes, virtual events on Second Life, a poetry radio station and a new literary magazine
- Members report gaining confidence, growing as poets, increasing readership, forming friendships
The Poetry Cove
The Poetry Cove, one of the world’s most extensive and accessible online poetry communities for aspiring poets across the globe, is marking its first anniversary on Sunday 27 February, celebrating the successes of just one year of activity.
Founded in February 2021 by Adam Gary, a self-taught poet with a background in acting, who trained at National Youth Theatre, in its first year of life The Poetry Cove has gained over 2,500 “Covers” between members, forum participants and followers, hailing from 61 countries, including the UK, India, Australia, South Africa, Uganda and the US.
From first-time poets to established authors, the hub calls itself “the world’s most extensive poetry community” by virtue of its rich offer, which includes both free tools and a membership scheme.
The ethos of The Poetry Cove is to create an interactive, supportive and accessible platform where anyone looking to dive into the world of poetry can get involved. On the platform, poets of varying knowledge and ability can share their work, promote themselves, gain constructive feedback, meet and discuss with like-minded people, and make friends.
Poetry Community
Ken Merchant from Maine, US said: “This is a community of individuals whose kindness and charm have elicited numerous moments of happiness since I joined in May 2021. Since joining, I have increased my readership, received peer feedback for future publications, formed new friendships and received a new sense of purpose. All of which wasn’t easily accessible or achievable before.”
The beating heart of The Poetry Cove is its Forum, a free platform for people to share poetry and receive feedback on their work. With several members joining the community having never shared a poem in their life, the Forum has given hundreds of writers the confidence they needed to make their work more known.
Suchita Senthil Kumar from India said: “Finding The Poetry Cove was one of the best things that happened to me in 2021. As someone who mostly used to write prose, I was quite apprehensive with my poetry in the beginning. After being a part of the conversations on the Forum, poetry seemed less daunting. Now, I’m slowly beginning to understand the craft of writing poetry. I was one of the first 100 members and now watching the Cove enter a year of honing poetry, it gives me a sense of immense joy. I’ve found some of my best friends there, so for me, the Cove extends even beyond poetry. It feels home.”
Online Academy
The Poetry Cove also offers an online Academy to its members, with Saturday School drop-in classes. Open to anyone aged 16+ and from all backgrounds, all classes are held online, to enable attendance from members worldwide, and are aimed at training the next generation of poets, not just through their writing, but helping them become the best, most well-rounded professionals within the industry.
Many members are vocal about how being part of a community of like-minded people in the Academy and through the Forum has helped them not only to grow as writers and increase their confidence as poets, but also at those times when they were struggling with their mental health and wellbeing.
Rob Edwards from Yorkshire, UK said: “Almost two years ago as the pandemic was starting I fell ill with Sarcoidos. It affects the muscles of my torso so I can’t do much physically, that I was used to as an active person. My muscles are in constant pain, thankfully controlled somewhat with strong painkillers. As an outlet I started writing more poetry, I had plenty of time on my hands and inspiration around me, living in the Yorkshire countryside.
In March last year I was looking online for somewhere to share my poetry and a safe encouraging space to connect and learn from, and with fellow poets. I stumbled over The Poetry Cove Instagram account and my hopes were answered. Adam Gary the founder and architect of The Poetry Cove seemed to genuinely want to start that very thing I was looking for. In the Forum, my fellow poets have been very supportive and constructive. I’ve gained so much more confidence in my poetry in sharing and learning from their counsel.”
Virtual Spaces
Using the power of digital media to bring people together, The Poetry Cove has a significant plot of virtual land, with a Virtual Café and Performance Space where they hold regular open mics and other style events on Second Life. Participants can chat with each other “in person” over a drink, write poetry together, and read their poems out loud in a cosy, dimly lit, ambiance.
In its first year of life, The Poetry Cove has been organising events in partnership with other organisations, including a fundraising virtual open mic on Second Life as part of HopeFest, to raise funds for the American Cancer Society, and a pioneering initiative to promote National Poetry Writing Month last November, posting daily prompts and encouraging different discussions and support around NaPoWriMo as well as raising awareness across the internet.
Poetry Cove Magazine
Launching on the platform’s first birthday, the brand-new Poetry Cove Magazine is a quarterly-issued literary magazine edited by Poetry Cove member Sophie Scarlette, featuring original poems, short stories, essays, reviews, opinion pieces, games, contests, as well as news and listings of poetry events worldwide.
The submission-based nature of the magazine will ensure priority is given to debut poets, in line with The Poetry Cove’s mission to celebrate raw talent and give everyone a platform to showcase their work. The magazine will be available for purchase exclusively on The Poetry Cove’s website.
Adam Gary
Adam Gary, founder of The Poetry Cove said: “The Poetry Cove came about having spent a lot of time sharing my work and talking about poetry on YouTube. It very quickly became apparent that there are so many out there yearning to get into poetry writing but lack the confidence, direction or platform that will gently ease them into it. As someone who has been in their shoes, and always gone about things unconventionally, I felt akin to my followers and went about creating a place for them that encompassed everything they may need to push on in their endeavours.
I can’t believe we’re now approaching our first birthday. We have laid an incredibly solid foundation for our big vision, and I am always so humbled when I read messages from Covers about what The Poetry Cove means to them. We have big plans for what lies ahead, from having top poets host our Radio shows, to giving voice to exceptional undiscovered poets through our Magazine, and of course continuing to strengthen our community within the Forum and help as many more poets around the world as possible!“
More from The Poetry Cove
Additional initiatives under development include: The Poetry Cove Radio, a 24hr poetry station with poetry tracks from independent poets across the globe; an in-depth Podcast, with a first episode already ranking on Apple Podcasts in the U.S and South Africa; an upcoming Talent Agency for literary, performance and spoken word poets, as well as influencers specialising in the poetry niche and leading industry practitioners working in publishing, film and television, theatre and arts festivals.
About The Poetry Cove
Home to the world’s most extensive poetry community, The Poetry Cove strives to be a home for poets across the globe, with the mission to provide the most extensive, supportive, and safest place for anyone looking to dive into the world of poetry.
They provide a platform and a first step to those who wish to make something of their poetry. With a forum for poets of varying knowledge and ability to come together and share their work, promote themselves, gain constructive feedback, meet and discuss with like-minded people, make friends, learn, and escape the realities of the world for a while.
Website: The Poetry Cove | Twitter: @PoetryCove | Instagram: @PoetryCove
About Adam Gary
Adam Richard Charles Gary was born and raised in London. Adam first realised his interest in acting at the age of six, and has gone on to perform in many various productions, and worked on major Hollywood blockbuster film sets. Adam is an alumnus of National Youth Theatre, an exciting theatre company that has nurtured some of the best British talent over the last six decades, with former members including Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Colin Firth, Rosamund Pike, Orlando Bloom and Hugh Bonneville among others.
A self-taught poet, Adam is the author of four published collections and releases exclusive online collections for his Patreon every month, which has quickly gained him an online following for his work, with over 3,500 YouTube subscribers. Adam is the founder of The Poetry Cove, an initiative to seek out and promote the best undiscovered poetic talent from around the world.
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